The Sword Of The Spirit

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“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17).

In the battle which we are expected to wage against the principalities and the powers of this world as instructed in the famous charge in Ephesians 6, only one attack weapon is given to us. It is here identified as “the word of God.” This great sword, which is “quick, and powerful” (Hebrews 4:12), is to be that by which we live (Luke 4:4), speak (Acts 4:31), preach (II Timothy 4:2), teach, and glorify (Acts 13:48).

This weapon of our warfare (II Corinthians 10:4,5) is not carnal (physical), but it is mighty (dunamis: capable, able), even with enough power to demolish the castles of the enemy and his most well-thought-out strategies (imaginations), as well as every high (sophisticated, important, prestigious) person, place, or thing that would (dare) exalt itself “against the knowledge of God.” This weapon is so sharp (like a two-edged blade—Revelation 1:16) that it penetrates “even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). In fact, the word of God is capable of “bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (II Corinthians 10:5).

Praise God! With such a weapon we can’t lose, unless we keep it in the scabbard. It is worth noting that the Greek term used here for “word” is the term “rema,” used specifically of the spoken word. In our “warfare,” in which we must stand against the forces of evil, our weapon is the spoken word of God. The great truths of God do no good sheathed between the covers of our Bibles. “Faith,” which is the channel through which God operates in the lives of men, “cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word [rema] of God” (Romans 10:17). As Christians, we need to take out our swords, open our mouths, and preach the word! HMM III